Pitts Stop: Shutesbury Couple Bikes Coast-To-Coast For Epilepsy Research
SOUTH BOSTON (CBS) -- Nine weeks ago, Shutesbury couple Arleen and Cliff Read dipped the rear wheels of their bikes into the Pacific Ocean.
This weekend, they dipped the front wheels of their bikes into the Atlantic Ocean in South Boston.
It signified the end of a two-month journey for the couple, where they raised about $40,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation by biking coast-to-coast from Washington to Boston.
It's all to honor their son Charlie, who passed away at the age of just 16 from SUDEP, or Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy.
"May it be Charlie's legacy that, with the help and support of all of you and this effort of ours this summer, that some small progress is made toward understanding and preventing this dreadful phenomenon that is SUDEP," said Arleen.
SUDEP kills an estimated 3,000 young people in the United States each year--partly because the causes are not well understood.
All of the $40,000 raised by the Reads will go to the SUDEP Institute of the Epilepsy Foundation.
